I suspect that may work here: the Kilauea lava is some of the runniest there is. It is pouring down a tiny slope in the video. I imagine if you cooled the front bit enough to make it stop, the stuff behind would just come around the side.

Probably, as it approaches the houses, the lava is getting cooler, and it is coming closer to a water supply. Spraying water is probably a good thing to try on the last day before it arrives.